THE Pakistan Democratic Movement has further raised political temperatures with the announcement that its constituent lawmakers will hand over their resignations to their respective party leaders before the year ends — a development that would create more uncertainty and turmoil in an already tense environment.

Although it is not yet clear when the PDM parties will hand these resignations over to the national and provincial assembly speakers, the very prospect of half-empty assemblies, more protests and marches, the talk of by-elections and the possibility of a boycott all point to a deeply chaotic and challenging new year. Given the economic, employment and Covid-19 challenges, a prolonged period of uncertainty will do little to assuage the concerns of members of the public. It is therefore imperative that both sides reflect carefully on their planned political manoeuvres.

The PDM must take a moment to seriously reflect on the resignation issue. Not only will en masse resignations push an already dejected and battered nation into further disarray, an alliance that has been forged to strengthen democracy may inadvertently strengthen undemocratic forces. Despite all its efforts, the opposition may not succeed in bringing down the government, but the paralysis that would result from the sustained protests of those who have resigned from parliament can be harmful for democracy.

More importantly, the PDM’s resignation strategy should prompt an internal discussion about the role of two of its major parties — the PML-N and PPP — during the 2014 sit-ins when the PTI threatened similar action. The PML-N in particular, played a mature and sensible role when in government and made a genuine effort to engage with opposition lawmakers to defuse the situation. At the time, the speaker sought reasons behind the resignations in an attempt to avert a crisis. The PML-N should explain why tendering resignations today is justified when it was something its government did everything to avoid when faced with the predicament.

As it confronts an alienated, seething opposition, the government, too, must change tack to save itself — from its own myopic, tunnel-vision approach. Incendiary, knee-jerk statements and schoolyard bullying tactics must come to an end. Instead, tact, cool-headedness and long-term thinking should prevail. It is in the PTI’s own interest to adopt the approach the PML-N took back in 2014 on the resignation issue.

Mocking the opposition is akin to shouting fire in a crowded theatre, and will only complicate its already immense governance challenges. It must tone down the anti-corruption rhetoric and begin to seriously engage with the opposition to decelerate a snowballing crisis through talks. Here, there is an opportunity for a grand national dialogue with mediators and middlemen who are acceptable to both sides. The initiative ought to be taken by the PTI and welcomed by the PDM. The present atmosphere of acrimony and bitter verbal onslaughts is counterproductive for everyone.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2020